Also Noted: Data management stakes; Cloud secrets revealed; and much more... Dominion fuel cell park pathway for American energy security and ingenuity
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy recently showcased how affordable fuel cell solutions support energy policy, the environment, and economic development at local, state and federal levels. Case in point: The 15 MW Dominion Bridgeport fuel cell park in Bridgeport, Connecticut, which demonstrates how fuel cell power generation enhances the resiliency of the electric grid with low carbon power production and exemplifies urban renewal being cited within a city. Article
 | SGCC releases smart grid facts videos
The Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative (SGCC) has produced a series of videos with which utilities can help educate residential customers about the smart grid in a fun and engaging way. "We created these videos to add another dimension to the facts presented to consumers surrounding smart grid and deepen their learning opportunities," said Patty Durand, SGCC's executive director. Article
U.S. provides real-world examples of carbon emissions reductions
There are many real-world examples in the United States where government policies and emerging technologies are creating opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while delivering net economic benefits; with targeted policy support, the U.S. could achieve deeper reductions even faster, according to a study by World Resources Institute (WRI). " Article
 | Streamlining solar interconnection processes
With the solar market expected to more than double in the next few years, cutting the time and costs involved in connecting individual residential and commercial photovoltaic (PV) installations to the grid is a growing concern for utilities, regulators and solar installers. Utilities are focused on interconnection -- the actual process of connecting a new installation to the grid – which can take less than two weeks or more than two months, according to research from the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA), produced under a Department of Energy SunShot Incubator Award, in partnership with Clean Power Research. Article
News From Across the Energy Industry:
1. Are key NERC initiatives the missing link to reliability and cybersecurity?
2. China becoming major player in gas generation
3. Utilities select Fierce Energy, Smart Grid Innovators
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Today's Top News 1. First national carbon emission cap-and-trade program vulnerable to market meltdowns
No other state or country in the world has attempted to regulate the sale of gasoline and diesel under a cap-and-trade program, but on January 1, 2015, California will, for the first time, include transportation fuels -- gasoline, diesel and propane -- in the nation's first carbon emission cap-and-trading scheme. As California readies to launch this major expansion of its three-year-old cap-and-trade program administered by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) is calling the program flawed. Under this program, power producers operating in California must purchase carbon allowances from CARB to cover their emissions of greenhouse gases.  | | Credit: Thinkstock | Specifically, a new report from Latham & Watkins law firm and commissioned by WSPA identifies what it calls "major design flaws" that make the program "vulnerable to market meltdowns." "Past experience demonstrates the importance of proper design," writes report author Jean-Philippe Brisson, a carbon markets expert with the Latham & Watkins law firm in New York and a former Goldman Sachs vice president and commodity trader. "Market design flaws can result -- and have resulted -- in catastrophic implications for environmental markets around the globe." The report contends that it is essential for CARB to address five major issues before expanding the program "to avoid a situation in which allowance prices spiral upwards," including the current structure of the holding limit; the infrequency of auctions; CARB's cost containment policies; CARB's approach to markets and the rule of law, and the program's relationship to impending federal GHG regulations. The analysis made a comparison to a program in California designed to reduce emissions of oxides of nitrogen and sulfur through a similar, but much smaller, cap-and-trade system. When demand for electricity soared during the state's electricity market deregulation crisis, the emission credits created by the program spiked from $2,000 per ton of emissions to more than $60,000 per ton. "In the context of the California cap-and-trade program, this precedent would be the equivalent of cap-and-trade allowance prices spiking from their current average of $12 to $360," Brisson wrote. WSPA has requested that CARB postpone expanding its cap-and-trade program to allow time for the agency to correct these design flaws. "Market design flaws, including those identified in this paper, may lay dormant for a period of time when markets are not under stress, providing a false sense of security to industry and regulators," said Brisson. "When a program comes under pressure because of unforeseen conditions or simply because the program becomes increasingly stringent over time, latent market design flaws can significantly derail an environmental program, undermining both industries' and regulators' investments to achieve environmental objectives. Accordingly, ARB should address these issues now rather than waiting until the program experiences a significant stress, at which point corrective action may come too late." For more:
- see this report Related Articles:
California, Mexico partner to promote low carbon economy
GHG regulations: A cautionary tale Read more about: carbon emissions, greenhouse gas emissions
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2. Utilities play critical role in energy careers
Utilities across the country are wrapping up Careers in Energy Week -- for example, ComEd in Illinois and California investor owned utilities. This week ComEd partnered with the Illinois Energy Workforce Consortium (IEWC) and other Illinois-based energy groups to increase public awareness of careers within the energy industry and emphasize the important role these companies play in supporting the future workforce.  | | Credit: Thinkstock | "We provide a critical service to our customers and rely on a highly skilled and tech-savvy workforce to do so. The demands for talent will be even greater in the future as our industry transforms and, as a result, we are devoting a great deal of effort to identifying and developing the next generation of workers," said Anne Pramaggiore, President and CEO, ComEd. "To attract and empower the future energy trailblazers and innovators, we support a number of initiatives that promote education in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and career opportunities in the energy industry." As part of the effort, ComEd is sponsoring an awareness campaign that includes the mailing of Careers in Energy Week informational packages to 500 high schools in ComEd's service territory. The packets contain information about careers in the energy industry and a contest opportunity that offers teachers, who demonstrate good use of the materials, $200 classroom grants. ComEd also visited a number of elementary and high schools to talk to students about the opportunities available in the STEM fields. Across the country, California's investor-owned utilities like San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) were busy kicking off the week and engaging the community. "At SDG&E, our goal is to support programs that provide tools and resources to students in hopes of engaging them in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math," said Scott Drury, vice president of human resources, diversity and inclusion for SDG&E. "Careers in Energy Week is a great example of how we, as a community, are working together to develop our next generation of leaders in the region." As a member of the California Energy and Utilities Workforce Consortium, SDG&E and the other member utilities collaborated to coordinate a Careers in Energy Week video contest for local students --the goal of which is to help students learn how energy companies operate, the importance of having energy companies, and the diverse workforce that makes up the utility industry. Students will be asked For more:
- visit this website Related Articles:
Veterans' traits ideal for second career in energy
Closing cross-sector skills gaps Read more about: San Diego Gas and Electric, ComEd
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3. PA legislature passes ALEC-backed bill
Pennyslvania's statewide public interest group, PennFuture, is accusing the Pennsylvania legislature of passing two bills that will harm the water and air quality in the state. Both HB1565, the Subdivision Flooding Bill, and HB 2354, the Stall on Carbon Bill, cater to powerful special interests, PennFuture claims. For example, the Stall on Carbon Bill is an American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) initiative championed by Pennsylvania's coal industry, which allows either chamber of the General Assembly to block and delay Pennsylvania from submitting its carbon rule compliance plan to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), raising the likelihood that Pennsylvania cedes control of its compliance program to the federal government. PennFuture says that by creating three different entities (House, Senate and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection) with authority over the compliance plan, negotiation efforts by affected businesses and stakeholders will be confounded. Further, the bill raises serious constitutional issues related to separation of powers. The Subdivision Flooding Bill ignores the issues of stormwater runoff and flooding, contends PennFuture, as it caters to the state's builders lobby. Passage of the bill jeopardizes the riparian buffers along streams that not only reduce flooding and stormwater runoff, but markedly improve water quality, decrease pollution, protect drinking water, and improve wildlife habitats. "Pennsylvanians are deeply concerned about their air and water and are demanding action," said Cindy Dunn, president and CEO of PennFuture. "Passage of these bills at the eleventh hour only serves to appease deep-pocketed interests and large campaign contributors. These bills can in no way be seen as helping to protect public health and safety. Rather, they do exactly the opposite." For more:
- see the bills here and here Read more about: American Legislative Exchange Council, HB 2354
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4. Smart cities changing the energy industry
Today, cities are increasingly demanding to move to cleaner and more efficient energy resources to meet the needs of an urban population that will expand by 2.4 billion people during the next 35 years, and the spread of smart city technologies and policies, developed in response to the rapid growth and change happening in cities around the world, is helping to drive sweeping and fundamental changes in the energy landscape, according to Navigant Research. "Cities around the world are recognizing the importance of -- and the opportunities offered by -- changes in energy infrastructure and energy markets," said Eric Woods, research director with Navigant Research. "In addition to being the focus of extensive smart grid pilots, cities are becoming increasingly proactive in terms of the targets they are setting for their utilities to shift from fossil fuel to renewable energy, and are encouraging local generation on both the residential and commercial level." Support for renewable generation by city authorities places increased pressure on utilities to deliver an infrastructure that can integrate these new resources in a manageable way, Navigant says. Grid reinforcement is often required to support the integration of large amounts of renewable energy, but this can be offset by the wider use of smart technologies -- smart grids -- for both network management and demand management initiatives, such as automated demand response. For more:
- download the report Related Articles:
DTE Energy showcases smart cities project
ComEd celebrates opening of CSMART smart grid center
ICT transforming fuel consumption
Smart city data reflects San Diego EV market, attitudes Read more about: navigant research, smart cities
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5. U.S. India collaboration to feed energy and sustainable development
U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced an "enhanced strategic partnership" between the United States and India during India Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the 5th U.S.-India Energy Partnership Summit at Madison Square Garden, organized by the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and Yale University. The partnership marks a major milestone in the collaboration between the two countries in energy and sustainable development.  | | Dr. R. K. Pachauri, President and Director General of TERI North America (left) and Dr. Ernest Moniz, U.S. Secretary of Energy, at the 5th U.S.-India Energy Partnership Summit in D.C. Credit: TERI | Of the partnership, Moniz said, "we have a strong base to build on," citing new U.S./India Smart Cities collaborations, a new multi-billion dollar effort to support renewable energy, a U.S./India partnership for climate resilience, and a U.S./India exchange program for training students. Prime Minister Modi "is providing a new momentum" in the area of finding low-carbon energy solutions for India's ambitious plans, and nuclear energy is an area where collaboration needs to be stepped up, according to Secretary Moniz. In the first concrete action since the U.S. and India announced plans to boost cooperation in energy fields, TERI and United Technologies Corp. have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to set up the Center of Excellence on Energy Efficient Buildings in India's Cities. The United Technologies -TERI Center of Excellence will focus on ways to evaluate and enhance energy efficiency in existing buildings in India --an imperative as India's urban expansion is expected over the next 20 years. "There are huge environmental risks by not building environmentally, or in a way to mitigate climate change. We have every reason to act together. But given the scale of the challenge, government cannot do it all," U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman said at the Summit. Therefore, the need for involving the private sector. "Capital markets move more money in a day that governments move in a year…[the government] could be a first purchaser, and could set of the rules of the game and liberate private capital to scale up programs," Poneman said. "The Department of Energy would invest early, well before it is reasonable for the private markets to invest." Areas where the government can give an initial boost is with projects that are in "the valley of death" -- a phase when they fail without adequate help generally when a new idea is first being prototyped or starting to be implemented, according to Poneman. "I've never seen a time where our relationship has so much potential...to create a new energy revolution which will drive manufacturing, and other issues," Poneman said. "We need to create more of a familiarity with green assets in order to build a more robust capital market in this area." For more:
- see this fact sheet Read more about: Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz
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Also Noted News From Across the Energy Industry:
> SMUD saving customer 80 percent on commercial energy bill Post
> Yahoo embraces community model of renewable energy development Post
> Utilities, EVs communicate in the cloud Post
> Complaints from TX electric consumers up in 2014 Post
> Demo plant first to produce zero emissions Post
> APPA research supports plea to FERC to dump mandatory capacity markets Post
> Dominion fuel cell park a pathway for energy security and ingenuity Post
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Recipe: Innovative CIO. Be explicit about direction (strategic intent) Be visibly aligned (operating model) Make it Real (walk it, talk it)
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